The Legend of Zelda: Mind's Eye
by Leia needs Pancakes
Summary: A betrayal from years past returns in full force as assassins seek revenge upon Hyrule. However, a secret lying in wait in a world once known as the sacred realm may prove their last chance to end the onslaught before it begins. But will a hero be able to answer its call this time?
1. Prologue

The moon shined an ethereal light over the clearing in the forest, it's blue tint disturbed only by the veils of shadows cast by the towering trees. Hiding within the darkness was a young man, his body covered with a tight black skinsuit, a red symbol of a single eye resting upon his chest and shoulders, a large teardrop running its way down to his stomach and forearms, the only things breaking the monotony of the color. Even his face was cloaked in a black scarf, covering all but his piercing eyes. Strapped to his back was a quiver with an assortment of different arrows, and next to that a wooden bow. On his side was a small dagger, wedged between his thigh and a strap encircling it.

He had briefly exposed his mouth to bite the flesh of an apple, his eyes trained on where the woods ended. The forest was over a bit of a foothill, giving him a clear viewing of the valley below. Cutting through the green of the plains was small rocks jetting up from the ground beneath them, and a forked path of exposed earth, a sign in between designating where this paths lead. Off in the distance the boy could faintly see the royal castle, towering over a small town leading into it. He felt uneasy being so close to the town, having never seen it in person until this day. But that was hardly his focus, as his mind was on his target.

Hearing the faint stride of a horse's footsteps approaching, he dropped his apple and hid himself further behind the tree. Reaching for his bow and a single arrow, he drew it and took aim at the intersection of the forked path, and from there waited. The sound of the hoofs hitting the floor below became clearer and clearer, the muscles in the young boy's arms tensing as he pulled back on the bow's string as hard as he could manage. Finally, his target was in sight. A large brown horse with a rather regal looking white saddle, carrying a rather muscular woman with long, grey hair. She was adorned with striking cobalt armor, a golden triangle and a blood-colored bird emblem resting upon the front. The bottom half of her face was concealed with a red scarf, ending just below her deep red eyes, its ends stretching all the way down her back.

Accompanying her was a young woman resting against her back. She was blond, parts of her hair bonded together by blue wraps, and wore a long, decadent pink dress, A parting in the front revealed a white undershirt, sporting the same symbols as the woman she was with.

Taking one final sigh, resolving himself to his actions, he let loose his arrow. He felt the strain of his muscles leave him all at once as he watched it flow across the wind, spiraling towards its target, before finally meeting its resting place upon the horse's side. With an exclamation of pain, the horse jolted, throwing the two women off of its back before darting away from further danger. The older woman managed to roll the moment she hit the ground, before finally barrelling onto her feet in a crouched defensive position. The younger girl was not so lucky, and found herself thrown against one of the small rocks, her head colliding with the hard surface. She didn't seem to be quite out cold, but we clearly shaken and groggy from the impact.

"Who goes there!?" The grey haired woman exclaimed. The young man ducked further behind the trees, hoping he had gone unnoticed.

Silently, she drew a nimble, curved blade she had concealed behind her long scarf, and began scanning the horizon for her attacker.

A hefty sigh left the man's breath as he clutched the bow tight in his hands, his eyes briefly closing as he gathered his thoughts. Carefully he pulled another arrow, this one with a red tip, and began to draw it on his bow. Suddenly, the arrow's tip burst to flame as a heated light illuminated his surroundings. He had silently hoped his target wouldn't notice this until it was too late. He whirled around from his only covering, and as soon as he was turned to face the clearing, let fly the flaming arrow.

The heat began to intensify as the arrow was consumed in a ball of fire, its heat so scorching the grass below it blackened from its presence. Seeing the ball of fire in the corner of her eye, the woman managed to react barely within time, swiping her blade into the flame and splitting the arrow in half. Flames lit her sword for but a passing second as smoke rose from the edge of the blade. Unfortunately, she realized her true mistake too late. Turning her attention to her younger companion, she had noticed that the split arrow fragments had set the valley ablaze, the one to the left inching its way towards the maiden. On instinct, she raced for the young girl to try and save her from the flames, but found a piercing cold around her feet, and found herself unable to move. Another arrow had been fired, this one creating a thick layer of ice around the feet of the young boy's target.

Hastily, she began chiseling away at the ice with her blade, before a thick fog of smoke suddenly surrounded her. She could sense the boy's presence, and hastily swung her sword to where she believed her target lied in wait. He thrust his dagger against the sword, and due to her rather uneven position was easily able to knock her off balance. Her sword fell to the wayside as the ice cracked beneath her and she fell to the ground. The smoke cleared as her attacker stood above her.

"I won't let you take her!" The woman exclaimed as she reached for her sword, finding it missing. She turned her attention back to the young boy, who seemed to have already grasped it while she was falling and was now holding it to her throat.

"I'm not here for the girl." The man informed her as he pointed to his left eye, the same teardrop emblem on his clothes tattooed around the socket.

The woman simply scoffed. "So you're one of _them_ …"

"I take it this woman is important?" The man changed the subject.

"I've sworn my life to protecting her and her family. If you touch her, You and your entire clan will be wiped off this earth." The woman said, an angered hiss leaving her tone.

The boy simply scoffed in bemusement. "Threats from someone in your position? Interesting…"

"I promise you, it's far from idle words." The woman continued.

Sighing, the man quickly drew his bow and let loose a blue arrow in the girl's direction, extinguishing the flames with glaciers of ice, before seamlessly switching back his attention to his target. "Come with me and this will be the end of the maiden's involvement."

The grey haired woman looked over at the girl. The child was visibly over the older one's situation, squirming hopelessly and pushing against the rock in a pointless effort to gain the leverage needed to rise to her feet, but seemed hardly able to keep consciousness, desperately struggling to move as her body and eyes visibly protested her effort.

The woman nodded compliantly. Satisfied, the young man roughly pulled his target to her feet and began to leave. Seeing a rather large source of light behind him, however, he turned to see the young maiden, propped against the small stone and wielding the red arrow, which was once more lit aflame.

Shaking his head, the young male simply tossed down a round ball, which erupted in smoke. She tossed the arrow to where he stood, but once the smoke cleared it was made apparent that was no longer where him and his captive were.

"N-no… No!" The young girl struggled to cry out. She raced to where the two once were in hopes of maybe seeing where he went, but the effort proved too taxing as her mind lost focus and her eyes faded in sight, until she finally collapsed, unconscious.


	2. Forest Through the Trees

The gray haired woman walked through the dim forest, followed closely by her abductor, who was a pace or two behind her to ensure she couldn't attempt a surprise attack from his blindspot while they walked. This proved to be a wise decision, as the sole thought coursing through her mind was escape. The only thing holding her back was concern for what would happen to the blond maiden should she resist this man's capture. The young girl was out in the field all alone, and it was highly unlikely this man was a solo operative. It was entirely likely others of his clan came to collect the girl as leverage, and if she were to act out of turn, it would very likely resort in the girl's death.

"Have you been teaching her?" These words broke the woman out of her train of thought, leading her to turn her head back to look at the man who spoke them. His eyes were trained on the ground to his side, his head tilted slightly as if he had seen some sort of strange creature there, but there was nought to be found where his eyes rested. His voice was oddly relaxed, almost casual, which took the woman aback and unnerved her.

"Come again?" She spoke in reply.

"The little girl. She seemed to be quite versed in magic. That isn't something Hylians these days are very adept at…" He answered, turning his eyes back to the woman curiously.

The gray haired woman merely scoffed. "I'm not going to be striking casual conversation with my captor, if that's what you think."  
"Right, then. Sorry." He muttered as he put his head down.

The rather aloof way he acted caught the attention of the woman. For a skilled assassin, he certainly didn't seem to have the composure of one. A quick scan of the horizon left no indication he had any outside assistance either.  
"You're not even a real Sheikah… are you?" She probed.  
He quickly pulled his head back to meet his captive's eyes, his own glaring daggers at her. "More of one than you are. A traitor like you has no room to talk."  
"The whole lot of you are traitors to the crown, You've no room to speak yourself."

"The crown betrayed _us_." The assassin insisted. "For years we've been pushed around until they've no need for us, then they blame us for their own folly and cast us out, full expectation of us reuniting them humbly the second they realize their mistake."

"Is that the rhetoric your clan's been spouting?" The woman let out a dry laugh.

"W-well, no, I…" He released a heavy breath before turning his attention away. "Why am I even bothering with you..?"

It was becoming increasingly clear to the woman that this young boy posed no real threat to the blond girl, but the question of whether he was a lone agent or not remained unanswered. Without such affirmation, she couldn't dare act against what he wished of her, and despite his seeming lack of competence, the odds of him being daft enough to fall for her outright asking if he was working alone were slim.

Still, though, she had to take the chance. "The girl from earlier… Did your clan do anything to her?"

His attention was fixed back on the woman once more. "It is as I stated. If you follow me, the maiden's involvement in this charade ends. If not… The consequences will be less than desirable." He stated firmly. "One is never alone in the eye of the Sheikah. I'd expect one bearing the name of our former head of clan to know better, miss Impa." He added, an almost taunting tone finding its way across his tongue as he spoke.

"Right, obviously…" She relented. Indeed, it would seem she would have no such luck in a simple escape today.

 **~~Faron Province: Forest of Saria~~**

Her body stirred as she heard voices talking over her, though she could hardly make out what they were saying with her energy so drained, with the fact that they were but mere whispers certainly not helping. She tried to open her eyes but found the effort to be a struggle. Finding the effort too daunting in her current state, she decided to put her full focus on merely making out what the murmurs around her were.  
Finally, a word managed to catch her attention. "Princess". A simple word seemingly muttered from that of a child, but it was enough to help her find a starting point in working out the conversation topic circulating her.

"...If it was really her, don't you think she'd have that older lady with her?" One of the voices spoke.

"Maybe they figured she could handle the trip by herself?"  
"Haha! Like the royal family would really risk their daughter's safety like that. Especially with all the…" The voice suddenly trailed off as it got quieter, only returning to audibility towards the very end of the sentence. "...Around here."

It would seem the subject matter was definitely the maiden, the young princess of the kingdom of Hyrule. It was a tad awkward to be eavesdropping on people discussing her like this, but it wasn't as if she was intentionally doing so. She noted how the voices all seemed to be children, and thusly decided they most likely meant no harm.

"What if something happened to her aide..? I mean, we did find her out cold in the middle of nowhere…" One of the children said, concern present in its speculative words.

"That would explain all that weird ice and stuff…" Another one noted.  
They found her unconscious somewhere? That would make sense, but her memory of what exactly transpired leading to now was rather hazy… Deciding no more information of worth could be obtained without actually speaking to them herself, she decided to attempt to vocalize the simple question of what happened. Even that, however, proved too much, as all that left her mouth was a rather lengthy groan.

"Ah! Aha! She's waking up!" One of the voices exclaimed rather loudly. She groaned again, not because she was necessarily doing as the voice claimed she was, but because the sudden burst of sound made it quite clear to the young princess that she had a colossal headache.  
Deciding it was probably best to completely come to before any more shrieks could be emitted, she started putting all of her effort into forcing her eyes open. Slits of color broke the darkness as her eyelids finally disconnected, allowing her to see a view of the world around her, however blurred it may be. Greens and browns were painted across the expansive blue of the sky, revealing her to be in the forest.  
Her eyes began to clear and focus in on her surroundings as her suspicions were confirmed, she was indeed somewhere in the forest. She sat up as gasps and cheers filled around her, all from children, or so she thought.

Her eyes looked around her to find her on some sort of system of wooden planks weaving from tree to tree, surrounded on all see by the bizarre sight of small tree saplings dancing around her, a single leaf across the front of each. Despite how odd they appeared in person, this wasn't the first time she had seen such an oddity. Indeed, she's read of these before. The peaceful forest dwelling species known as Koroks. They were quite cute, their leaves having holes to designate faces and little root stems mimicking arms and legs. The childish voices, no matter how harmful to the young princess' head they might be at the time, no doubt added to their adorable nature.

"Haha! Princess Zelda, you're awake!" One of the Koroks cheered.

The young princess sighed. Where should she even begin? Which one of these people could she even ask? She began to anxiously rub the bridge of her nose as she blinked away the last of the rest from her eyes.

"How did I wind up here…?" Was the question her mind finally settled on.  
"We found you passed out in some field nearby, and figured you must've been on your way here to meet with us! So we carried you out here!" A rather Korok with a brown maple leaf stated.

Zelda couldn't help but feel a bit guilty that such small creatures had to haul her unconscious body all the way out here, but her memory of exactly why she was around this neck of the woods was still vague and unclear.

"I'm sorry, I really don't remember much of what happened…" She confessed.

"Ohhh, I've heard of this! She must have ambrosia!" A rather lanky gray one sporting a rather torn and dark green leaf stated.

"No no, amnesia! Say it with me, Am-ne-si-a!" The maple one corrected.

"Ohhh, big words make my head spin…" The green one complained, his leaf falling off his face slightly as he slouched.

"Do you at least remember why you're here?" A smaller, almost yellow one with a red leaf asked.

"Not… Entirely." the princess reluctantly confessed.

"The king sent us a letter a couple days ago saying you'd come to help us with our territory issues…" The maple leaf one explained.

"Territory issues..?" She probed further.

"Those deku scrubs from deeper in the woods think this part of the forest should be theirs, since this is the forest sage's sacred grove and they believe the previous forest sage was a deku…" He continued.

"B-but you gotta believe us, that's totally not true! The previous sage was a Korok, all our ancient texts say that!" The red one interrupted.

"I think I vaguely recall something to that effect…" Zelda lied. She had no idea what she was doing here, or if they were even telling the truth. But, it was rather rude to assume the worst of them, so she listened regardless. "But… How am I supposed to help settle this dispute?"  
"By talking to the forest sage himself, of course!" The green one chimed in.

"T-talking to..? Oh!" Zelda exclaimed. Her memory was finally beginning to get jogged.

"Entering that secret realm place where all the sages live should be a piece of cake for the princess of the royal family, and then you can confirm once and for all the sage of this forest was a Korok!" the green one boasted.

"Sacred realm, Cedri, sacred realm!" The maple one corrected.

"Right! Sardine realm!" The maple one sighed in defeat, knowing his efforts were for naught.

Zelda stopped paying attention to their argument as she thought over the situation at hand. She recalled her purpose in coming here now, only members of the royal family could come and go from the sacred realms like what they were asking of her. And, entering the land _would_ certainly ease tensions between the two tribes. Still, though, in all her days she's never actually visited a sacred realm before, so she couldn't help but wonder why she of all people was asked to venture into it. However, this did manage to finally jog her memory. She didn't come here alone, of course, she was accompanied by her aide...

Zelda gasped. "Oh dear… Impa…." She trailed off before turning her attention back to the Koroks. "Did you see another woman with me?"

"No, that's what we found strange." The maple one answered. "It's unheard of for someone in the royal family to venture off without that scary lady accompanying them."

Impa did have quite the commanding presence, Zelda could understand why such small creatures would come to be frightened of her.

"I-I'm sorry, but might I settle this some other time? I really do need to make sure Impa's okay…" She asked.

"Well, you can't leave the way we found you, since that place is crawling with those Sheikah creeps…" The red one muttered.

"The only completely safe way on foot'd be… Through the Deku's side of the forest." The maple one continued.

"Which you can't get through without going into the silent realm first anyways." Cedri added.

"...How'd you get 'silent' from 'sacred'?" The maple one muttered.

Zelda sighed. "I suppose I can help, though only if you promise to send one of your own off to tell the king what happened to miss Impa."

"I'll go right away!" The red Korok announced as twigs sprouted in his hands, the ends adorned with leaves fashioned like propeller blades. They began to spin as he took to the skies, and flew away.  
"N-no, Junpa!" the maple one complained, but it was already too late to catch the little red Korok's attention. "...Sorry if you had more of a message to send, ahaha…."

"Don't worry, I think that was all I had to say…" Zelda reassured the small tree creature.

"..Oh! I haven't told you my name yet, huh?" The maple Korok noted. "I'm Seekwi!"

"And I'm Cedri, I'm the village leader!" The lanky gray one proudly announced.

"Y-you're the man in charge, huh..?" Zelda replied, a nervous laugh accidentally leaving her lips.

"Unfortunately, yes, he is…" Seekwi responded. "Though, don't worry! I'm basically the man behind the man, so if you need anything you can come to me!"

"Hey, I'm plenty trustwordy!" Cedri barked in response.

"...Of course you are, dear leader." Seekwi said, a rather backhanded tone present in his voice.

"As chief of our humble village, I suppose it's only fair I take you on a tour, huh?" Cedri asked the young princess.

Deciding it best to play nice for the time being, Zelda concurred. "That would be great, yes."

Having pieced everything together, Zelda's mind was now firmly on venturing into the sacred realm as fast as possible so she could return to the task of finding her aide. Though, the one named Junpa going out of his way to deliver her message to the king and queen did put her mind at ease. Perhaps Impa would be safe after all…

 **~~Faron Province: Airy Wilds~~**

Impa and the young assassin continued their march, finding themselves making their way around the bend of the Airy WIlds, once believed to be a lake, it now was a crater sporting a small valley within, plantlife of all kinds spread across the overbearingly large meadow created by the tide's absence.

"Any particular reason you're taking me sightseeing?" Impa asked dryly.

The assassin scoffed. "We're close to our destination."

Impa examined the valley below her, the creatures minding their own matters sprawled throughout, peacefully making their way across the horizon. The other side of the meadow was noticeably quite hard to make out from this distance, a small fog spread across the other side.

"What, pray tell, is our destination?" Impa pondered aloud.

The youth shook his head. "You don't know? There's only one place in the Airy Wilds we'd be headed…" He responded.

Impa shook her head. "I'm drawing a blank, I haven't been out here in decades."

"And for good reason." The assassin noted. "After all, the Sheikah drove everyone out ages ago. To build _that_." He motioned to the other side, where a dark brass gate was vaguely visible through the fog, the Sheikah eye etched into the peak of the arch.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Impa shrugged.

"Kakariko is no laughing matter, miss traitor." The assassin said, a teasing tone finding its way into his last words. "From there, there's no leaving until madame Dhurais wills it. And given your status, you certainly won't be escaping with your life."

Impa scoffed. It was becoming increasingly clear her situation was quickly turning for the worst. She'd simply have to trust that someone would eventually notice their absence and work out a rescue mission, though even that seemed near impossible given how vastly outclassed the Hylian knights were in comparison to the Sheikah.

"You must be pretty important to this Dhurais person to be tasked with hunting down someone of my 'status' then, huh?" She mused.

"Absolutely. I'm perhaps her most valuable follower." He confirmed, a hint of pride in his tone.

"But… why?" She asked, turning to face the unassuming young boy.

"It is believed I'm the very reincarnation of the hero who formed the Sheikah as you know them today…"

"...The man named Sheik."


End file.
